The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Typically, a firearm is a portable gun that discharges projectiles that are driven by the action of an explosive force caused by pressure during the discharge of ammunition. An automatic firearm includes a firearm that continues to load and fire cartridges from its magazine as long as the trigger is depressed and until the magazine is depleted of available ammunition.
It is known in the art that a bolt is the part of a repeating, breech-loading firearm that blocks the rear of the chamber while the propellant burns and moves to facilitate loading of cartridges from the magazine. Automatic and semi-automatic firearms are provided with a bolt catch which retains the bolt in the open position upon firing the last round in a magazine. The bolt is thereafter manually released after a fresh magazine is inserted, so that a round is chambered in readiness for firing.
Typically, locking the bolt carrier group in its rearward position allows the user to look into the ejection port of the firearm and inspect the chamber for a live round or to clear an operational malfunction. Once a loaded magazine is inserted into the receiver, or a malfunction is cleared, the user needs an efficient means for releasing the bolt carrier group from the locked-back position.
Other proposals have involved restricting automatic recoil of the bolt or bolt carrier group. The problem with these bolt catch devices is that they do not convert automatic rifles to single-shot mode by automating the restriction of forward recoil by the bolt. Even though the above cited bolt catch devices meets some of the needs of the market, an automatic firearm single-shot bolt catch assembly that utilizes a tensioned spring operational with a bolt catch, such that tension from the spring works to displace a plate in the bolt catch to a catch position, which restricts the recoiling bolt carrier group in linear path of the firearm, is still desired.